DOH budget for condoms drops from P880 M to zero

The Department of Health’s (DOH) budget for condoms and other contraceptives has been reduced from P880 million to zero, reports Inquirer.net. The bicameral conference committee first took P200 million from the DOH budget, which will be used for the maintenance and other operating expenses of state universities and college, Sen. Vicente Sotto III told Inquirer.net on Friday.

The remaining P680 million budget of the DOH is for "family health, responsible parenting and maternal care," Sotto said. "If you notice, this allocation is intended purely for the preservation of life... If they use it for contraceptives, we will question them next year. They would have a lot of explaining to do."

According to Inquirer.net, P8 million was initially allocated for the budget for condoms but it was stricken off the 2011 budget, along with all proposed funds for contraceptives. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile suggested the cut, after Sotto presented to him the DOH’s written explanation detailing where they would spend the supposed P880 million budget.